October 15, 2012 | Bloomington/Normal, IL Praise the Lord, a second couple has migrated to Bloomington, IL. On September 27, 2012 several of us from Champaign, IL helped to unload the truck of John and Rose Cheung. These saints migrated from Bellingham, WA to Bloomington. Praise the Lord for a cross country migration!! The other couple, John and Sheri Lin, moved to… Read More »
The Church Life in Birmingham: There have been saints meeting in Birmingham, AL since the late 1980s. From the early days, the church in Atlanta has supported and strengthened the saints in Birmingham. Over the years the saints in Birmingham have gained fruit which ultimately has strengthened the Body of Christ.
In recent years due to saints moving away, the number of saints meeting regularly had decreased to about three. By the end of 2010 only 4 saints were regularly meeting in the church in Birmingham. One of these 4, a young brother, went to the FTTA this Spring term. Two couples and two middle-age single saints migrated here in January. The church in Atlanta also lent 2 single serving sisters for the spring term. Recent migration of two couples and the Lord’s blessing the church with new fruit has resulted in about 10 saints regularly meeting together now.
It is a very sweet, house to house, day by day church life. We have many meals together and our homes are open daily for the gospel and shepherding those the Lord brings across our path. We have the Lord’s table weekly along with our prophesying meeting on the Lord’s Day morning. We also have a regular prayer meeting on Wednesday.
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n Bloomington we’ve established 50 appointments this week alone—and we have only beenon the campuses two days so far. There are many, many people who are genuinely seeking (and have specifically asked for) long-term care, Bible studies, and a home in the church. We were concerned about running out of Bibles, so we have been trying to use more discretion in our distribution, but the students are so hungry that it is difficult to withhold from them!
Due to the blizzard, we only began distributing at Heartland Community College this week. The Lord Jehovah has sent hunger into the land! For example, at one distribution location, in one day, 17 appointments were set up on the spot. Additionally, several students joyfully received the Lord! One young lady, raised in an atheist family, came to discuss her consideration of “converting from atheism.” After praying to receive the Lord, she has become a genuinely changed person. By the next day, she was bubbling over with joy, already reading volume 2 of the Basic Elements of the Christian Life and her new Bible, and is considering coming to the Lord’s table in Champaign this coming Lord’s Day!
At Illinois State University, the response is also overwhelmingly positive. The majority of students who have requested a Bible are eager to meet for a Bible study. One young woman was almost in tears when we showed her the footnote to her favorite verse. She began opening her heart to us, saying that the footnote “was better than anything she has seen before,” and that it had touched her on an experiential level.
Wednesday evening we were invited to speak to a local youth group. One of the girls shared with us that her father received the Recovery Version at a Wal-Mart last Saturday and had given it to her as a gift earlier in the week! (We are saturating the community with Bibles because we have unknowingly met and established appointments with different members of the same families, and many recipients have testified of seeing family members or friends bring home the Recovery Version). Another group of sophomore girls eagerly invited some sisters to lead a time of fellowship and Bible study that they are starting beginning this Saturday.
Our testimony is that the Lord is everything, has done everything, and will do everything! We are rejoicing in Him and pray that He continues to have His unhindered way for His move! (www.gtca.us)
